Spring is springing, and now might be a good time to shake off the winter doldrums and go out to eat.

    At Michaels’ restaurant at Maidstone, a March to Spring food and wine dinner is being offered nightly all month. The special is $45 per person, which includes wine paired with an appetizer, entree, and dessert, or $30 per person for the meal only.

    Appetizer choices include red curry and lemongrass steamed mussels, corn and crab pancakes, fire-roasted prawns, polenta, lasagna, and hearts of palm salad. For entrees, diners can choose from braised New Zealand lamb shank, wild mushroom and fontina cheese ravioli, scallion and ginger-crusted yellowfin tuna, chicken Kiev, and grass-fed New York strip steak. Dessert choices include mango mousse cake, maple and ginger creme brulée, cinnamon rice pudding, and caramel and Granny Smith apple tart.

St. Paddy’s Specials

    In honor of St. Patrick’s Day this month, the Hampton Coffee Company in Water Mill has “leprechaun latte,” a chocolate mint-flavored drink, and Irish Creme-flavored coffee on the menu. Free samples of the Irish Creme coffee will be served every morning until lunchtime.

    The Hampton Coffee Company cafe, which serves muffins and other breakfast treats along with a full lunch menu of soups, salads, sandwiches, and desserts, is open daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Meatless Mondays

    Almond restaurant in Bridgehampton is participating in Meatless Mondays, a worldwide initiative to reduce the consumption of meat in order to improve environmental and individual health. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. each week, the restaurant will offer a vegetarian three-course prix fixe for $28.

Italian Wine Dinner

    At Race Lane in East Hampton, a six-course wine dinner on Sunday will highlight Italian wines. Dishes they will accompany include butternut squash soup with Montauk bay scallops, tuna crudo, handmade burrata with prosciutto, fettuccine Bolognese, braised veal, and, for dessert, zabaglione and berries. The dinner begins at 7 p.m. and costs $67 per person plus tax and gratuity.

Montauk Yacht Club

    News as the new season begins from the Montauk Yacht Club: Ryan K. Solien, a new chef de cuisine, will work with a consulting chef to design a menu blending Tuscan and “traditional farmers cuisine.” Mr. Solien previously served as a personal chef to Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and worked at Sandals Whitehouse, a Jamaican resort, as the executive chef with a Cirque du Soleil traveling show, and at the Big Sky Resort in Montana.

    A spring menu for the Gulf Coast Kitchen at the yacht club has been unveiled by Gabriele Corcos, the chef there. A three-course prix fixe for $29.95 features a choice of clam chowder, spicy mussels, ceviche, or pomegranate salad to start, followed by prawns and linguine, roasted Tuscan chicken, grilled hanger steak, or a Kobe beef burger. Dessert is included as well.

   Sunset Beach Farm memberships are available for the 2012 season of community-supported agriculture. The crops are grown using planting methods based on earth and moon patterns, without pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers.

    The farm has an acre of its own in Sag Harbor and has leased two in Amagansett. Farmers will harvest spinach, chard, kale, and peas in the spring, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, and peppers in the summer, and carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, turnips, and cabbage in the fall.

    The growing season will extend from June 8 through Oct. 26, with a full share (21 weekly pickups) costing $775 and a half share (every other week) running $387.50. Members can also purchase a weekly egg share at $84 for a half dozen. Delivery for those with a full share is available at an additional $1 per mile.

Newly offered this year are locally pastured and processed chickens, fed with organic scraps from the Provisions natural food market in Sag Harbor, for a member price of $6 per pound.

  A $200 deposit is required to secure a share by April 15, with full payment due by June 1.

New Muse

    Muse in the Harbor will open today on Sag Harbor’s Main Street. Matthew Guiffrida, the chef and owner, who opened Muse Restaurant and Aquatic Lounge in Water Mill in 2007, has closed that location and will turn his attention to the new eatery, which is in the building that formerly housed the JLX Bistro.

    The space has been redone, with driftwood floors and light blue and silver-gray colors, and includes a Muse “signature design element”: a lighted, 8-foot-by-4-foot fish tank filled with tropical fish.

    Mr. Guiffrida, who has been invited several times to cook at the James Beard House in New York City, will continue to offer “new American” dishes, including favorites from the former Muse menu, and new items. In addition to dinner, the restaurant will serve breakfast during the summer season, year-round brunch, and a late-night bar menu to accompany music by bands or a D.J. until 2 a.m. A “build your own” three-course prix fixe will be available for $29.95.  The hours for now are 5 to 10 p.m. on Wednesday through Sunday, with brunch served from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Posh Pies

    Posh Pies, a new local business, is offering handmade gourmet sweet and savory pies, tarts, and cobblers. Deb Braun, who has run Consuming Passion Catering here for 20 years and is the executive chef at Hain Celestial Group in Melville, has teamed up with her son, Miles Braun, to cook up the goodies, which are now available at the Seafood Shop in Wainscott. They will soon also be sold at Provisions in Sag Harbor, and the Brauns will be frequenting the farmers markets when that season starts. Items can also be ordered directly by sending an e-mail to compassion@opt­online.net.

    Among the savory varieties of pie, which can be made in individual, 6 or 12-serving, or party sizes, are a seafood pot pie with potato crust, Moroccan lamb, Thai chicken, Jamaican jerk chicken, salmon pie, and lamb or beef shepherd’s cottage pie. Dessert pies come in a host of varieties such as mixed berry, apple cinnamon, brandy caramel, strawberry rhubarb, and Key lime.

New Waterfront

    David Loewenberg and Sam McClel­and, co-owners of the Beacon restaurant in Sag Harbor, are taking over the restaurant at the Mill Creek Marina in Noyac. The year-round seafood eatery will be called the Anchor, and will open in May.

1770 House

     At the 1770 House in East Hampton, a three-course prix fixe is offered for $35 on Sunday through Thursday. The restaurant is open seven days a week for dinner.

Heritage Ranch Burger

    Rowdy Hall in East Hampton has begun using Heritage Ranch beef for its burgers. The choice to use beef from a source verified to be high-quality and natural is part of the restaurant’s commitment to using prime ingredients, including local produce and seafood.

   The space at 199 Pantigo Road, previously occupied by Pumpernickel’s Deli, has an eye-catching sign in front of it now, heralding the opening of Fish 27, a new seafood store with a familiar face or two.

    The shop is a mom-and-pop venture. Actually, it’s pop-and-son, owned by Jay Gold, a former Clio-winning commercial editor and director, and his son, Derek Miller, who has been in the seafood business on the East End for 15 years.

    Tony Minardi, the former owner of Claws on Wheels, is on deck as catering director, promising “fresh, fresh fish,” he said, and also lending a hand with the retail end of things.

    Clambakes, raw bars, and more are in the works, but for now, the principals are busy planning the grand opening next Thursday.

    Mr. Gold owned a restaurant in the MGM building in Manhattan for a while, and has been coming to East Hampton since 1970, also working as a broker on the South Fork. So why a seafood store?

    He deferred to Mr. Miller, saying, “Derek knows an awful lot about fish.” Mr. Miller worked with Inlet Seafood in Montauk and, he said, “delivered a lot of lobsters to Tony over the years.”

    “We’re going for a nice, warm, wonderful feel,” Mr. Gold said. The store is open, airy, and white, and Mr. Gold said that everyone behind the counter “is a personality.” Anthony Petty, who formerly worked for Second House Tavern, is the chef.

    “We’ll have groceries that will accompany everything we sell. And some Italian specialty items,” like linguine with fresh clam sauce and shrimp scampi with pasta, he said.

    There are plans to carry a mix of fried food and healthy food — like fish tacos and grilled seafood — and the owners are committed to using local vendors as much as possible.

    “We won’t have clams unless they’re local,” Mr. Gold said.

    The Fish 27 Web site is fish27 seafoodmarket.com.

little/red

76C Job’s Lane

Southampton

283-3309

Lunch Wednesday through Sunday

Dinner Tuesday through Sunday

    Little/red is a charming little place tucked away on Job’s Lane, where the somewhat dreary Buckley’s used to be. The space has been transformed into a bistro-style restaurant with a beautiful red bar at the entrance, an enclosed patio to the right, and a bilevel dining room to the left. The high gloss walls are an intriguing color. Are they gray, taupe, beige? How about greige? White orchids line one wall, there are beautiful candles all around, a deep burgundy banquette, and wood tables with bistro chairs. Something about the place feels familiar, from the always warm greeting at the door, to the font on the menu, to the ever-present crowd at the bar. It feels like Beacon and Fresno and red/bar Brasserie, David Loewenberg’s other fine dining establishments.

    The menu at little/red is surprisingly long for a small restaurant. The choices range from scallops or cod on the high end to a simple burger or fish and chips.

    On a recent visit we began with the prosciutto and fig salad, crispy calamari salad, and blue cheese Caesar salad. Yes, seven of the nine appetizers are salads. The prosciutto and fig salad had a wonderful balance of sweet, tart, and salty. The texture of the dried figs (as opposed to the mushier fresh) was a nice combination with the peppery arugula. Slivers of manchego cheese added some rich, salty, nutty flavor, and the honey balsamic dressing tied it all together beautifully.

    The crispy calamari salad was also very good. The calamari had an excellent crunchy coating but was not greasy at all. The bits of shaved celery root were a nice addition, as were the toasted pine nuts. The original and most delicious addition were the oil-cured olives tossed into it. Not to everyone’s liking, oil-cured olives are the dark, wrinkly ones, a touch bitter and super salty. They provided a nice zing along with the lemony vinaigrette. Caesar salad is Caesar salad; it’s always the same and is on almost everyone’s menu. This one was distinguished by a judicious amount of blue cheese and roasted cherry tomatoes. The dressing wasn’t as garlicky as I would like, but that’s just my preference.

    For entrees we tried the pan-roasted cod, the grilled cheese sandwich, and the bistro burger. And an order of one of my favorite food groups, the truffled fries.

    The cod wasn’t particularly exciting in and of itself, but once it was tasted with the rich vegetable fricassee, it was very good. A combination of asparagus, wild mushrooms, and bits of sweet corn were swathed in a rich, buttery sauce.

    I found it hilarious that a $24 grilled cheese sandwich would be offered as a dinner entree. But let me tell you, this was no ordinary grilled cheese. It was more of a duck Reuben, for grown-ups. The crunchy rustic bread held a filling of melted Brie, slow-roasted duck, and braised cabbage. It was served with shoestring fries speckled with parsley. This sandwich is so good, it’s worth a trip just for that.

    The bistro burger was the only dud. It was a pretty presentation on a brioche bun, with a pile of bread-and-butter pickles, but the meat was under-seasoned and over-packed. A problem easily remedied. The truffle fries, on the other hand, are another little/red delicacy worth the trip. Made with thinly cut potatoes, I couldn’t tell if they were seasoned with truffle oil or truffle salt, but I’m going with the salt. They were served with a bit of Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, piping hot and perfectly cooked.

    For desserts we tried the pine nut tart, a white chocolate mousse, and the warm cornbread pudding. The tart was outrageously good. The crust was rich and buttery, clearly very fresh, and the filling like a pecan pie but with toasted pine nuts. The generous amount of nuts kept the filling from being too sweet. A topping of sliced orange segments added a bit of citrus punch.

    The mousse, a special of the evening, was served in a martini glass with a lovely tuile adorning the glass. The mousse was lovely, fluffy, and decadent, but the cookie garnish stole the show. It was like a gingery brandy snap. (I didn’t see the name on the menu until I got home, but I then realized that little/red has had the good fortune to snag Holly Dove-Rozzi, formerly of the defunct Della Femina, as its pastry chef. Brava!)

    The warm cornbread pudding was also a hit: The cakey pudding had nice texture from the cornmeal and the accompanying apple cranberry compote was a good foil. Even the caramel sauce was distinctive.

    Service on the nights of our visits was exceptional, from the greeting at the door to the managers always circulating through the room greeting guests and checking on everyone’s well-being. Jenny, our waitress on both occasions, knew the answers to all of our questions and was able to guide our wine choice in the right direction. The wine list is also noteworthy. It has a good number of local choices, is heavy on Italian offerings, and has a very creative selection of great Spanish wines as well.

    Little/red is moderate to expensive. Starters are $10 to $15, entrees are $17 to $42, sides are $7 and $8, and desserts are $9 to $14. The prices are considerably less at lunchtime, and there is a midafternoon menu called “something in between” that is very reasonable.

    One of my guests astutely pointed out, “Look at the bar crowd. It’s like all of their other restaurants; people don’t want to leave. Even if you just come in for a drink, you end up staying to eat. It’s cozy and friendly.” Yes, little/red is all of those things. With truffle fries on top.

   At 8 p.m. tonight, Montauk, and a notable number of the hamlet’s standouts, including the surfcaster Gary (Toad) Stephens, Capt. Amanda Switzer, the Miss Montauk party boat, Jenny Meadows, chef at the Fishbar, Todd Mitgang of South Edison restaurant, and last but not least, Paul Melnyk, king of “skishing,” will be featured in the premiere of Ben Sargent’s “Hook, Line, and Dinner,” a Cooking Channel presentation.

    The plot of the short documentary is straightforward. Ben (“I live for sea­food”) Sargent, the show’s host-fisherman-chef, pays a visit to the fishing capital of the Northeast during the 2010 striped bass run.

    While the season ended with somewhat of a whimper, the month of October stood out big time, producing one of nature’s more awesome displays; tens of thousands of striped bass on their southerly migration feeding on great clouds of prey species.

    Mr. Sargent timed his visit well and the filmmaker Ariel Astrachan has strung together some amazing underwater and surface footage of big bass in the midst of a feeding frenzy.

    We often look funny to ourselves when peering into a mirror, and “Hook, Line, and Dinner’s” visit to Montauk will strike locals as a bit hokey. At the same time, viewers will take pride in the filmmaker/chef’s choice of featured characters.

    Toad takes Ben Sargent surfcasting, first explaining and demonstrating how he got his handle by jumping over cars. As for surfcasting, he is one of the best, with a gift for colorful, stream-of-consciousness patter. Those fishing alongside him might think it a curse. That voice!

    Toad gets him a nice fish that he takes to South Edison, where the chef Todd Mitgang prepares it with creamed kale and wheatberry on a bed of chopped cherrystone clam — “a taste of Montauk in the fall,” Mr. Sargent declares.

    The host takes to the sea for a bit of fly-fishing aboard Captain Switzer’s light-tackle guide boat. They find a traffic snarl of similar boats in front of the Montauk Lighthouse, a common, and often dangerous, dangle, but this sequence includes amazing video of stripers boiling on the surface. Acres of them.

     Next, the intrepid culinary Nimrod boards the party boat Miss Montauk for a day of porgy fishing with Capt. Jamie Quaresimo at the helm. He takes his catch to the Fishbar, a terrific out-of-the-way restaurant located at the Gone Fishing Marina on East Lake Drive. The chef Jenny Meadows concocts a mouth-watering dish by grilling a fat porgy whole and serving it with a spicy tomato chutney.

    This is a cooking show, and Mr. Sargent takes pains to accent the preparations. For the striped bass dish, he stresses that the kale was locally grown, the wheatberries too. Ms. Meadows says that if the porgy’s skin sticks to the grill, it’s not done.

    Next up is the fishing chef’s meet-up with Paul Melnyk, “the craziest man in town.” Montauk locals know that while he’s out-there (in a good sense), Paul Melnyk has not yet pledged Montauk’s craziest fraternity, but as the inventor and number-one practitioner of the sport of skishing he could be described as paranormal.

    Simply put, skishing means donning a wetsuit and swim fins and swimming offshore with a surfcasting rod. It all began, he claims, when he was pulled into the ocean while fighting a 40-pound striped bass. He says it’s a way to escape the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds that often cram the beach during the fall run. It helps not to dwell on the possibility that a shark could be attracted to the skish­er by the blood and thrashing of his catch.

    Mr. Sargent joins Mr. Melnyk on a skish­ing expedition which goes well — “reeling it in with nothing below you but the Atlantic” — until the tide turns and the pair is forced to struggle against it or get carried out to sea.

    All in all, Mr. Sargent does us proud. He gets it, and in the process of singing Montauk’s praises, reminds us how lucky we are to live beside a marine cornucopia.

   Chances are, the last time you bit into a sweet, buttery ear of corn was five or six months ago. Wasn’t it delicious? Your last fully ripe, deeply red tomato salad scattered with herbs followed by a perfect local peach? Seems like such a long time ago.

    Perhaps you have been perusing seed catalogs, dreaming about next summer’s garden. When you go grocery shopping this time of year, do you look at the produce section and go . . . “Meh”?

    Do not despair; this is the perfect time to expand your vegetable repertory. There are plenty of interesting root vegetables, alliums, and cruciferous vegetables that take well to wintertime cooking. Stews, ragouts, and warm salads made entirely with vegetables or with just a bit of meat or fish added are a welcome change this chilly time of year.

    I like to mix potatoes with celery root in a purée or gratin. Brussels sprouts roasted or shredded and pan-fried with a bit of crisped pancetta make a wonderful winter side dish. I had it last night! Endive is delicious in small doses in a salad, but try it in the classic French style, braised whole and perhaps topped with toasted breadcrumbs or grated cheese. This is also a good time to try those peculiar vegetables that baffle us, the ones hidden around the corner of the I.G.A., chayote, plantains, and spaghetti squash.

    Carrots are good all year round as is broccoli raab. Try the carrots blanched, then sautéed with a bit of butter and topped with minced chives. Broccoli raab cooked with a few ounces of hot Italian sausage mixed with orecchiette is an economical and hearty one-dish meal.

    It’s also okay to dabble with canned and frozen vegetables. Artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, olives, lima beans, and black-eyed peas can be incorporated into casseroles and salads.

    Plant foods can provide you with all the nourishment you need to live and thrive. Our primitive ancestors started out eating little else, and many cultures still do. For most of the 20th century nutritional science aimed to define an “adequate” diet, and determined our “minimal” requirements for balance. More recently, nutritional science is focused on defining the “optimal” diet. After comparing health statistics from around the world, people now realize that plants are the planet’s biochemical virtuosos!

    Beets belong to the goosefoot family, and their closest relatives, chard and spinach, are cultivated for their leafy greens. Beets have a remarkably high sugar content, which makes them delicious when roasted with other root vegetables, such as parsnips and celery root. They are also divine pickled and served with prosciutto and patés.

    Broccoli is related to kohlrabi, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and kale. Broccoli raab is more closely related to the turnip. Look for heads of broccoli that are firm and bright green, any yellowing or tiny yellow flower buds are a sign of age and poor quality. With broccoli raab, choose tender fleshy stems with the flower heads still closed.

    Carrots, which are closely related to parsley and fennel, contribute a sweet, rich character to stocks, marinades, soups, and sauces. But they shine best when cooked alone or with a few other vegetables. Look for firm, crisp carrots with smooth, unblemished skin, avoid those with soft or discolored spots. If tops are still attached, they should be bright green and not wilted.

    Both celery and celery root have strong herbaceous flavors. Originally, celery was considered useful only for medicinal purposes. Celery root, the milder of the two, is delicious raw in a mustardy vinaigrette or cooked with other cold season vegetables like chestnuts, fennel, and artichokes.

    There is a great variety of winter squashes available, butternut, acorn, Delicata, Hubbard, and Kabocha. They can be diced and sautéed, made into soups or gratins, simmered in chicken stock with onions, flavored with bacon, mixed into a risotto . . . the possibilities are endless.

    Of tropical origin, the sweet potato develops more sweetness and flavor while in storage, making it another ideal winter vegetable. I buy quite a few at a time, bake them all, and figure out what to do with them the rest of the week.

    Sometimes in restaurants I order two vegetable side dishes and a salad instead of the usual appetizer and entree. I have found out that an imaginative selection of side dishes reflects creativity in the kitchen.

    So we all miss those fleeting treats of summer. They are still five or six months away from us. In the meantime, why not explore the everyday and the more unusual vegetables of winter?

Click For Recipes

   On Friday, Feb. 24, the Living Room restaurant in East Hampton will have a Taste, Wine, and Dine event. Seatings will be at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. For $98 per person, plus tax and gratuity, diners will get a four-course dinner and a tasting of six wines chosen by Chris Miller, the restaurant’s sommelier. On the menu will be duck leg cassoulet, and veal cheek braised in red wine with truffle potato purée and sweetbread-stuffed cabbage rolls.

Annual Oscar Contest

    With the Academy Awards forthcoming, Rowdy Hall has renewed its contest for diners who want to try to predict the winners. Customers will receive, with their checks, a ballot to fill out. After the awards show on Feb. 26, whoever is found to have submitted the most correct answers, will receive a $50 gift certificate and two vouchers to the East Hampton movie theater.

Annual Pas de Deux

    In one of the first foodies tidbits about the coming summer season, it has been reported that Tom Colicchio, of “Top Chef” fame, will open a restaurant in Bridgehampton at the former Bull’s Head Inn. The property is being restored to become a hotel and spa to be called Topping Rose House, reportedly run by Mr. Colicchio’s organization.

Next Restaurant Week

    WordHampton Public Relations is signing up eateries to participate in the springtime Hamptons Restaurant Week, taking place from March 18 to 25. The promotion will give diners an opportunity to order a three-course prix fixe for either $19.95 or $24.95. Vineyards and lodgings participate as well.

    This year, in conjunction with Maureen’s Haven, which offers shelter to the homeless, there will be a night when restaurants will serve a meal to members of the homeless population and shelter volunteers. And, for each new fan of the Hamptons Restaurant Week page on Facebook, the campaign will donate $10 to Maureen’s Haven.

    Restaurateurs interested in participating can sign up online at hamptonsrestaurantweek.com, where a list of eateries offering the specials can also be found.

Dinner, Movie

    A special on Friday and Saturday nights at Phao in Sag Harbor includes a three-course prix fixe and a ticket to the Bay Street Theatre’s Picture Show movie, which can be used at any of the showings. The cost is $28, and the menu will change weekly.

Market Gift Certificates

    Gift certificates are available to purchase goods at the East End Fair Foods Market, held Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bay Burger in Sag Harbor.

    Certificates in $20, $40, $80, and $100 amounts, for which an 8-percent service fee is charged, can be ordered at the market, or by sending an e-mail to info@ turtleshellhealth.com.

    Recipients can exchange the certificates for tickets that can be used in lieu of dollars to purchase items from market vendors, which include all kinds of local food producers.

Dockside Reopens

    The Dockside Bar and Grill in Sag Harbor reopens today after a winter break. The restaurant will be serving lunch and dinner five days a week, and brunch on Saturday and Sunday. It will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday. For the third year, the Dockside will feature “meat-free Mondays.” This year, the restaurant has deepened its commitment to quality healthful ingredients by using only antibiotic and hormone-free meats and poultry, and chemical-free shrimp and calamari.

Valentine’s Day is coming and perhaps you have been planning a special meal for that certain someone. We tend to think of Valentine’s meals as an indulgence, perhaps an elaborate recipe, some expensive and rich ingredients, all topped off with a gooey, chocolaty dessert. Ca­vi­ar, champagne, steak with béarnaise sauce, oof!

Some traditional Valentine’s Day fare, such as oysters, has been believed to have aphrodisiacal properties for thousands of years. So why not forgo the wallet-busting, diet-destroying, and libido-dampening meals of the past and try some of the foods that do have the potential to put you in the mood for love.

Since the first century A.D., arugula has been considered an aphrodisiac. Figs, ginger, carrots, honey, vanilla, and avocados get high marks, whereas dill, watercress, and lentils put a damper on amore.

There is a top 10 list of foods reputed to be aphrodisiacs, some merely due to their resemblance to human anatomy (bananas for boys, figs for girls), and some with a bit of science to back them up.

In 19th-century France, asparagus was served in three courses to young bridegrooms on the eve of their nuptials. Asparagus is a great source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, thiamin, and folic acid. Folic acid is said to boost histamine production, which in turn enhances everyone’s sexual satisfaction.

Almonds have been regarded as a symbol of fertility for thousands of years, and the odor was believed to arouse passion in the ladies. The French writer Alexander Dumas dined on almond soup every evening before meeting his mistress.

The Aztecs’ name for the avocado tree was “ahuacuatl,” or “testicle tree.” The Spanish found the fruit so obscenely sexy that Catholic priests attempted to ban its consumption. While avocados are a bit fatty, it’s all good for you, full of folic acid, vitamin B6, potassium, omega-3 fatty acids, and oleic acid, which helps fight “bad” cholesterol.

The banana is full of potassium, magnesium, and B vitamins. It also contains chelating minerals and the bromelian enzyme said to enhance male libido. This may be why Central Americans drink the sap of the red banana tree as an aphrodisiac and the Hindus regard it as a symbol of fertility.

Basil is an interesting addition to the top 10 list. How did it get here? As a member of the mint family, it is believed to have headache-curing abilities — all kinds of headaches. In some parts of Italy, basil is presented as a love token.

Chocolate! Why does it make us so happy? The “food of the gods” contains theobromine, a stimulating alkaloid similar to caffeine. Chocolate also helps the brain produce feel-good serotonin. But stick with dark chocolate (like 73-percent cocoa); milk chocolate is just a bunch of fat and sugar.

The egg is one of the most ancient of fertility symbols. High in B6 and B5, it could be part of a perfect, inexpensive, light Valentine’s Day meal. Gently scrambled eggs with a few drops of truffle oil and a dollop of caviar? Heaven!

Figs are said to have been Cleopatra’s favorite food. These sweet purple fruits are sexy in both appearance and texture and have figured in a great deal of erotic literature. To the ancient Greeks, they were “more precious than gold.”

Foie gras is considered an aphrodisiac simply because of its decadent richness, buttery texture, and association with fine living. I’ll take a pass on this one.

Last but not least, the beautiful oyster! Casanova ate 50 a day. These mollusks are high in zinc, which raises sperm and testosterone production, and contain omega-3 fatty acids. You could choose Pacific oysters like Kumamoto for their creamy, mineral taste, or Atlantic oysters for their distinctive brininess. Whichever you choose, try them with David Rattray’s mignonette recipe below!

When researching foodstuffs for this column, I always turn to my trusted tome, the dense “Oxford Companion to Food.” I was deeply distressed that Alan Davidson does not believe that any foods possess aphrodisiacal powers and to believe so “is on a par with believing you’ll find a crock of gold at the end of a rainbow.” Bah-humbug!

I believe that if you are preparing a special meal for your loved one, and it is healthy and doesn’t break the bank and begins with oysters and ends with dark chocolate, chances are you could get lucky this Valentine’s Day.

Click for Recipe: Silver Vodka Mignonette for Oysters

   It’s fairly common knowledge by now that, as the band Queen sings, “fat-bottomed girls, they make the rockin’ world go ’round,” but can the same be said for confectionery?

    According to Donna McCue, whose East Hampton business, Fat Ass Fudge, has been on a steady spread for the past four years, the answer is yes.

    Ms. McCue has been known in the Hamptons for her work as an intuitive for over 25 years, which included a stint as a columnist for Hamptons magazine and the publication of a book — “Your Fate Is in Your Hands” — by Simon and Schuster. But it was during a family reunion for her 60th birthday that her life took a new and unexpected direction.

    Her eight brothers and sisters flew in from all over for the celebration, for which Ms. McCue made the fudge she had been making for herself for years. “It was my English grandmother’s recipe, but I kicked it up about 100 notches.” She changed the generic ingredients supplied in the recipe to the best of the best — 72 percent pure dark Belgian chocolate and organic goat’s milk and butter, which is better stomached by those with lactose intolerance. She also made the recipe gluten free.

    When one of her brothers suggested that she sell the stuff, and asked her what she would name her company, she sassed, “I would call it what you called me growing up — Fat Ass.”

    “And that’s ‘How I Turned an Insult Into an Empire,’ ” Ms. McCue said on Saturday morning. One can hear the capital letters implied by the former comedian and talk show host as she plans the title of her fantasy autobiography.

    Her empire right now consists of farmers markets and a few local exchanges, along with her Fudgemobile — a Scion sporting her trademarked Fat Ass donkey. But her available wares have grown from fudge in its different forms — this month heart-shaped fudge is all the rage for obvious reasons — to include other sweets as well, all handmade by Ms. McCue. At Saturday’s East End Fair Foods Market held each winter weekend at the temporarily-closed Bay Burger in Sag Harbor, her table is filled with truffles, dark chocolate sauces, fudge, brownies, English toffee, and popcorn drizzled with fresh caramel and chocolate.

    “Do you know what the difference is between men and chocolate?” Ms. McCue said. “Chocolate never disappoints.”

    When she began her cottage industry, Ms. McCue was working at the now-defunct Della Femina Restaurant, answering phones. “They opened their kitchen to me,” she said. Now she uses the new Dreesen’s location on Lumber Lane in East Hampton. An unasked-for gift of seed money from her publicist set her on her way.

    When people need a Fat Ass fix and can’t find a farmers market, Ms. McCue also sells her products, including little one-bite morsels called Ass Kissers, online at fat-assfudge.com.

    “One a day keeps the doctor away,” the Web site boasts.

    Seasonal favorites include a pumpkin spice fudge in the fall, and peppermint fudge during the winter holidays. Another favorite, a ricotta fudge made with cheese from Mecox Bay Dairy in Bridgehampton, “is like heaven,” Ms. McCue said. When she makes it, it sells out immediately.

    The fresh and organic ingredients are expensive, and the product is delicate and needs temperature control, so portions tend to be small, but Ms. McCue is confident that “a little Fat Ass goes a long way.”

    With her budding company, Ms. McCue said she has finally found her calling. “It combines all the things I love and know about from my life: creativity, alchemy, making things both as healthy and as decadent as I can,” she said with a laugh.

    What does the future hold for Fat Ass? “I would love to have a Fat Ass Cafe in East Hampton,” she said. One can see the wheels turning as Ms. McCue smiles and plans her next big venture. “The slogan can be, ‘Come in and sit your Fat Ass down.’ ”